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If you are like me (I mean if you have an iDevice, are a logophile and have a vested interest in English regardless of whether or not it's your first language), you always look for accessible reference-oriented applications on the App Store. You might even cringe as soon as you notice moderate to serious accessibility issues in an app you just finished installing, and the very thought of asking Apple to refund your purchase, though simple and straightforward, might disgruntle you.

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In the upcoming releases of iOS 14.2 and iPadOS 14.2, Apple is adding a new People Detection feature to its Magnifier app on liDAR-equipped devices that will enable blind and low vision users to determine the distance between themselves and nearby people.

With the introduction of People Detection, Apple is delivering the first example of how the LiDAR Scanner's ability to quickly and accurately scan and map nearby objects can be harnessed to offer significant added value to blind and low vision users of iPhone 12 Pro, iPhone 12 Pro Max, and the 2020 iPad Pro.

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Ending months of speculation, Apple today announced the release of its US$549 AirPods Max high-end, over-ear wireless headphones offering Adaptive EQ, Active Noise Cancellation, Transparency mode, and spatial audio. AirPods Max come in five colors, and are available to order starting today, with availability beginning Tuesday, December 15.

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Apple today announced the launch of the iPad 10, featuring a new all-screen design.

The new iPad offers a 10.9-inch Liquid Retina display and is powered by the A14 Bionic chip, which according to Apple ā€œdelivers even faster performance with incredible power efficiency for demanding tasks while still providing all-day battery life.ā€

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Apple has today invited the press to a special event on March 25 at Steve Jobs Theater in Cupertino.

Apple officially announced the event with the tagline ā€œItā€™s show timeā€, which would appear to confirm that the rumours are correct, and that the focus of the event will be on Apple's long-anticipated original content video service.

In it's round-up of what's already known about the video service, 9to5Mac offers some information on the content we should expect:

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Apple has today announced the launch of a new MacBook Air featuring the Magic Keyboard, up to two times faster CPU performance, twice the storage, and a new lower starting price of $999.

The new MacBook Air features the latest 10th-generation Intel CPUs, which Apple says allows the new MacBook Air to deliver faster everyday performance:

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Ahead of next week's ā€œIt's show timeā€ event, Apple has today announced updates to its iPad line - there's a new 10.5-inch iPad Air, and a long overdue update for the iPad mini.

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Apple has today announced the launch of a new 16-inch model MacBook Pro that features a redesigned ā€˜scissorā€™ keyboard, thinner display bezels, and 9th generation Intel Core i7 and i9 processors. The new model replaces the existing 15-inch MacBook Pro at a similar price point.

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Apple today announced the next generation of Apple TV 4K. The new model is powered by the A15 Bionic chip and has support for HDR10+

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In addition to a new MacBook Air and updated Mac Mini, Apple today has also announced a new iPad Pro powered by the A12Z Bionic chip and featuring a new dual-camera, a LiDAR scanner for Augmented Reality, and trackpad support.

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Apple has today announced that it will be holding its second fall special event on October 13.

It is anticipated that this event will see the launch of the iPhone 12; and possibly other products such as Apple AirPods Studio, AirTags, an Apple Silicon powered MacBook, a smaller HomePod, and an updated Apple TV.

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Apple's Beats subsidiary today announced the launch of Powerbeats, an updated version of its Powerbeats 3 wireless earphones.

According to 9to5Mac, the US$149 Powerbeats have been upgraded on multiple fronts over the previous generation Powerbeats 3:

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Apple has today announced a ā€œOne More Thingā€ media event for November 10, 2020, at 10:00 am Pacific. As with its two previous Fall events, this will be online only.

Apple said at WWDC that its first Apple silicon Mac would debut before the end of the year, so it's almost certain that this will be the ā€œone more thingā€.

Itā€™s possible that Apple could also announce the long-rumored AirTags tracker, and possibly AirPod Studio over-ear headphones too.

Apple is likely to announce a release date for macOS 11.0 Big Sur during this event.

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Update #2: It's been confirmed that audio description will be available for the event when it airs (rather than a described version being made available later, which is what Apple typically does with live stream events).

The event starts at 10 a.m. PT / 1 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. UTC.

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As we reported in December 2015, Apple was rumored to begin selling accessories related to accessibility in early 2016. Those rumors are now coming to fruition, At the time of posting, the Apple website lists a total of 15 accessories available for purchase.

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Apple has today released tvOS 9.1.1 for the fourth-generation Apple TV, bringing with it bug fixes, performance tweaks and a new Podcasts app.

According to MacRumors, tvOS 9.1.1 focuses on under-the-hood improvements and the addition of the new Podcast app.

No release notes are currently available from Apple, so the complete list of improvements and changes in this update is unknown.

If you encounter any accessibility-related changes, please be sure to let us know in the comments.

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Apple this week launched the new iPhone 6S and 6S Plus. One of the headline features introduced on these is 3D Touch, a slight variation on the Force Touch seen on the Apple Watch and newest MacBooks and heralded by Apple as ā€œthe next generation of multiā€‘touchā€.

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Shortly after announcing the release of the new Apple TV and launching the tvOS operating system, Apple has today published a new webpage detailing the accessibility features of the new set-top box.

According to the Vision section of the tvOS Accessibility webpage, the new Apple TV will include both VoiceOver and Zoom, as well as a number of other standard accessibility features for blind and low vision users.